UH Foundation hires Greg Willems as vice president of development

HONOLULU - The University of Hawai‘i Foundation is pleased to announce that Greg Willems has joined the executive team as the vice president of development. Under the direction of the president, Willems will oversee the fundraising and development operations at the UH Foundation. He will also be responsible for leading the planning and implementation of the next comprehensive campaign.

Willems comes to the UH Foundation with extensive development and management experience having held executive fundraising positions at premier public universities. Prior to his development work, he worked in the corporate sector in the construction, finance and insurance industries.

Most recently, Willems served as the executive director of development at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He was active on the vice president for development and alumni engagement’s executive team and co-managed the constituency based fundraising division that generates more than $130 million annually for the benefit of UBC.

Prior to his position at UBC, Willems was a senior director of development for the Texas A&M Foundation where he served in a leadership role for Texas A&M University’s successful $1.5B “One Spirit One Vision Campaign." During the campaign, his role included national major gift work for the entire university as well managing the development program for the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

“Greg has significant campaign experience in the billion dollar range working with engineering, geophysics, Division I athletics and medicine,” said Donna Vuchinich, president and CEO of the UH Foundation. “We are delighted to welcome him to our team as we prepare to embark on the next ambitious fundraising campaign to benefit our students and communities as we continue to build the culture of private philanthropy in Hawai‘i.”

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The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. Our mission is to unite our donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations to benefit the people of Hawai‘i and beyond. We do this by raising private philanthropic support, managing private investments and nurturing donor and alumni relationships. www.uhfoundation.org